Alabama walked away from Lexington with a solid 45-17 win over Kentucky, but the locker room knew it was far from smooth sailing. Sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell struggled early, turning the ball over twice in a chaotic first half that saw Bama trailing 17-13 at the break. Head coach Kalen DeBoer did not sugarcoat things afterward, calling out the exact mistakes his offense needs to fix.
The biggest concern right now is how Russell handles the run-pass option (RPO) system. Instead of taking what the defense gives him, the young quarterback is rushing his reads and forcing throws into tight windows. As DeBoer pointed out, executing these plays isn’t rocket science. It comes down to making simple choices like handing the ball off to keep the drive alive.
“[Keelon Russell] has to realize that within this offense, on some of our RPO stuff, it’s okay just to hand it off. You don’t have to force a tight window throw into coverage when the defensive look is giving you the run,” DeBoer said in the post-game presser. “You hand that ball off, you let the running backs chunk out four or five yards, and you stay on schedule. When you don’t, you end up with tipped balls, sacks, and turnovers that flip the field on you.”…